The Russian threat, hybrid war, and ongoing crises can no longer be covered in isolation

Our society's relationship to truth and facts is undergoing a fundamental change. Where we might once have believed that a large part of the population of central and eastern Europe would have a common understanding of who our allies are and who the potential aggressor is, we can no longer be sure.

In many countries, interpretations of modern history are being bent to the political needs and advantage of propagandists.

Questioning Ukraine's right to defend itself against unprecedented Russian aggression is proving an election-winning strategy in some countries. We live in a region where corrupt populists masquerade as peacemakers, and where it is impossible to expect an effective fight against hoaxes since governments themselves are frequently the biggest sowers of disinformation.

This is the result of a chronic underestimation of the hybrid war that hit our countries long before Russia attacked its western neighbour. Fake news has permeated social networks, whose owners have little incentive to suppress because it serves their commercial interests.

The mainstream independent media used to be a major force in the fight against disinformation, but nowadays they often fulfil this task at the expense of their role of determining and guiding public discourse, and bringing up topics that must not be overlooked by society. Moreover, they also struggle with the misconception that disinformation is a problem of actual journalism.

It isn't. Lies are not proliferating in the public discourse because journalists are doing a substandard job.

It is true, however, that the subject of national security and defence has, over the past decade, tended to become the exclusive domain of specialised journals or foreign news desks, which have mainly reported on stories brought by the major international media.

Populists often deliberately use the subject of national security to scare voters and subsequently offer them protection in return for their votes – and, of course, tolerance of their brazen corruption. At the same time, they use security issues as a pretext for the oppression of human and civil rights.

Independent publishing houses from countries on the EU's eastern frontier understand that it is of vital importance to pay more systematic attention precisely to the issues of defence and national security, the energy industry and energy security, as well as economics and cyber-security.

Gazeta Wyborcza from Poland, SME from Slovakia, 444 from Hungary and PressOne from Romania have formed The Eastern Frontier Initiative (TEFI) to work together on content focused on these areas. The Netherlands-based investigative portal Bellingcat is also a partner in this project.

Russia's aggression against Ukraine has clearly shown us that the threats go far beyond political analysis and expedient statements by some politicians. We can see that journalistic work, more than ever before, involves seeking out the best-informed international sources and tirelessly explaining to the wider reading public the issues that are currently shaping the future generations in our region.

This is particularly true at a time when governments in our region are at odds over these interpretations. The governments of Slovakia and Hungary are pushing narratives that are often aligned with Russian propaganda, while the Polish and Czech governments are in agreement with our Western partners.

This is why these issues transcend the borders of Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Romania, why national stories are going untold or being covered only partially, and why international media cooperation is a natural response.

This article was written in the framework of The Eastern Frontier Initiative (TEFI) project. TEFI is a collaboration of independent publishers from Central and Eastern Europe, to foster common thinking and cooperation on European security issues in the region. The project aims to promote knowledge sharing in the European press and contribute to a more resilient European democracy.

Members of the consortium are 444 (Hungary), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), SME (Slovakia), PressOne (Romania), and Bellingcat (The Netherlands).

The TEFI project is co-financed by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.